You tend to hear a lot about how bad this country is getting, rightly or wrongly, but where are you meant to go? I am almost certain it is a case of the grass being greener but was curious to see what people think. I'm a journalist, which is a relatively easily transferable "skill" but we're not exactly in short supply and I don't actually have any practical, sought-after skills so I'm not exactly going to welcomed with open arms anywhere, as far as I can tell. Unless you're absolutely fluent in a foreign language then the only four countries that comes to mind for an English-speaker are America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I love NZ, for example, but I'm certain it was someone on here who, a few years ago, made the move over there, found that it wasn't as great as he imagined but then couldn't afford to move back to the UK. Generally interested to hear people's thoughts and views on this, especially from people who have made the move.
Last edited by Seb d; 5th April 2014 at 13:38.
This country is a great one to live in,you probably only realise this when your away on holiday tbh.
The issue isn't the country and it's many problems,but the place you live and the people around you,I would choose a more desirable place to live ie Ilkley/ Harrogate or Skipton as an example,but whilst shopping in Ilkley yesterday it seems a huge lottery win would only make this dream come true having looked at property prices in the area!.
My father's cousin emigrated to New Zealand in the 1950s and started his own haulage company. After a couple of years, he offered my father a job and he came very close to taking us all to New Zealand. I sometimes wish he had done. My cousin (another part of the family) moved there some years ago and she's a midwifery supervisor (or whatever they're called) and they also have their own guesthouse. They have a wonderful life.
Eddie
Whole chunks of my life come under the heading "it seemed like a good idea at the time".
I have heard people refering to the UK going down the pan for all of my adult life. I dont really understand what is so wrong with the place. i like living here and wouldnt want to be anywhere else.
I'll be very interested to find out what the specific issues are that people have with being here and what they think a move elsewhere will achieve.
Agreed. After 5 years in a slightly rough town in Kent in my first house, I moved to a lovely quite little village in Kent around a year ago, which I love, and am close to London for friends and family so right now am really happy with where I am.Originally Posted by P9CLY
I’m going nowhere else as I don’t believe this country is going down the pan.
I’ve travelled a fair bit, lived abroad and owned property abroad but this is my preferred home and I’ve no wish to make it so anywhere else.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
A guy I know in New Zealand says that you need to wear sun cream if you're going to be outside for more than a couple of minutes, whatever the weather.
Australia is full of venomous creatures.
Canada is covered in snow for four months of the year.
The UK isn't so bad.
That's a bit harsh. I know the blokes are all tossers but some of the women are okay.
What other country is 'better' depends on what you are seeking and on what, if anything, you feel is wrong with the UK and/or the EU (or wherever you are starting from).
I have a friend who moved from the UK to Uruguay and is very, very happy there. He moved for tax reasons and for reasons of personal liberty and privacy. No, he's not a money launderer or anything like that; he just values the liberties that we used to take for granted here in the UK but which the UK (and most EU and Anglosphere countries) now only pay lip service to.
He needed to learn Spanish but that was not overly difficult for him. I don't think choice of language should be a primary show stopper for where you choose to move. There is a big, big world outside of the Anglosphere. And the Anglosphere is, sadly, not what is used to be.
So, in terms of where to go I think it is important to be clear on what you think is wrong with where you are to begin with and on what you want to achieve by moving. Then you can create a shortlist of countries that might suit your needs, and then you can consider language issues, financial/taxation issues, whether or not to pursue citizenship, residency, or to keep it totally unofficial, and so on.
IM only asking to understand a different view point, not because i know enough to disagree/agree with you but can you elaborate on what you mean?
I left the UK in 2007, and moved to Finland to start my new life. No regrets whatsoever :)
I lived and worked in China in 2003 and spent the best part of last year living and working in the US.
Not saying either are any 'better' than the UK, but if the opportunity arose, I'd happily move to either, preferably to China.
I was flown out to China early last year for an interview and was offered the position, but something didn't quite feel right so I turned down the position.
The role was worth over £100k more per year than my current salary, but if you're not 100% certain and/or committed, you stay put.
I have spent 50% of my life in Switzerland, about 30% in Australia, and pretty much the remaining 20% in the UK. And I've travelled nearly everywhere. And the UK is were I'd rather be, for a number of reasons. Doesn't get better than London for me right now. But everyone's situation is different.
I fully agree with it being dependent on the individual needs of different people and their ideas of happiness. I spent a decade in the US and now 9 years in the UK, and much prefer it here, but it suits my wife and me, and our lifestyle. There are many places in the world where you can live and have a much bigger house, much more land, etc., if that's the goal. It's not for us.
The country's been going to the dogs ever since those bloody Normans arrived and I'm pretty sure the ancient Athenians felt the same way - though not about the Normans, of course. On the other hand, the fact that Nigel Farage is regarded is a serious political figure may well lead one to despair.
Obviously it depends on your circumstances but there is nothing wrong with the UK IMO, the NHS for one.
I have plenty of relatives who live in Oz and NZ , my middle son lives in the US and I wouldn't swap living there for here.
Some things are possibly better in other countries but then a lot of things are better here.
Wherever you go you take yourself with you.
Cheers,
Neil.
Couldn't agree more with your thoughts ,best country in the world to live in if you live in a desirable part of the country .
Or, from another perspective, that there is still hope for the UK... ;-)
Miss a lot of things but def not crime!!!!
Must admit sometimes the UK feels gradually more foreign to me each time I return
I could but I'm not going to. ;-) I think that each person must make decisions about what is or is not important to them for themselves. Some things which are of critical importance to one person can seem completely irrelevant to another, meaning that if one person tries to explain such things to another then the result could be complete and utter incomprehension. There is no such thing as 'objectively important' in this context (or at least there is no widely shared definition of 'objective' in this context).
I grew up between Australia, Melbourne in particular, and the UK (Newcastle). I haven't been back over in the last 10 years but its apparently quite a different place now. Very expensive for everything, job market not good at all, dead for IT my industry. House prices currently going through the roof. Economy totally propped up by the Chinese market. A friend over there told me recently the place has become basically a quarry for China, iron ore, coal & LPG. If/when things go bad in China, it could get nasty. I would love to go back but its not currently an option for me. Maybe south east Asia or Belieze for me.
There are probably many places in the world where it's better to be poor/average than the uk, but few where it's better if you're affluent.
All my family and friends live within an hours drive. I like that.
Canada I could live with; I have relatives there, and I don't mind snow :)
The UK would be one of the best places in the world if we could just break away from the EU and all it's numpty legislation. That, and regain control over the borders, immigration and migration issues that went horribly wrong some time ago.
Apologies to anybody who has migrated legally to UK here but I'm not saying some migration isn't a good thing for the country but we seem to have got it very wrong.
But if I were to go anywhere it would be Italy - beauty, food, culture, weather, skiing and cycling like you wouldn't believe...
Last edited by mrwozza70; 5th April 2014 at 19:36.
Have to be Croatia for me, gorgeous weather, cheap Karlovacko and great fish restaurants.
The island of Brac just a cross the water from Split also gets my vote.
Here here! This country needs a big shake-up and the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned.
“Don’t look back, you’re not heading that way.”
I grew up with an expat lifestyle and have sampled many countries. London (rather than the UK as a whole) is just the greatest place for me. We have flirted with the idea of moving to
Asia but not just now.
My wife is originally from
Thailand and was talking about us potentially moving there (which I wasn't keen on doing). She's staying there for a month (so granny and grandad can spend time with our 6 month old son) and she is now talking about how much she misses the UK and how she could never live in Thailand again. IMHO the Brits moan too much about the UK - if you live in a nice area there are very few nicer places to live permanently. It's very easy to get your head turned by a holiday etc but being a tourist somewhere is very different from living and working in a country. That being said I would be open to working and living in Singapore or Hong Kong one day as I love Asia but the UK is one of the best all round packages I would say
Oz, NZ, the US, none of them would accept me and my catalogue of medical issues, so they can go and suck.
This is a discussion we have very often in our house as the wife is in a job that is in demand on the visa lists.
She would like Australia or New Zealand but when I suggest moving closer to her work now to cut down on the commute she moans that it's too far away from the grandparents, then I say well Aus etc are a lot further away and the talk stops for another few weeks.
Switzerland or Canada would be too places I wouldn't mind living although the language may be an issue in Switzerland, but give me a cottage in a remote part of Devon, Wales or Scotland and I'd be happy as a pig in muck.
Im sure they would be most disappointed to learn of their loss.
Truthfully - it is their loss. I'm a nice person, really.
Not that I'd go. I hate the sort of heat common in those places.
The grass is always greener on the other side..
Hear, hear.
My parents moved to Spain 7 years ago.And why not? Beautiful weather,Own pool and a better quality of life especially heath wise.What was unexpected was the property market crash that has meant that in downsizing to give them less work to maintain their property they have had to sell at a huge financial loss.
If they had stayed here then their property would have gained financially but I doubt very much that their health would have improved.
Obviously there is no single answer to this, we all have factors that will dictate what we do. Clearly, a lot here are real Anglophiles who can't see beyond Blighty!
I've looked at this question extensively, I'm very proud to be British but do I enjoy life here and have confidence in the future? No.
Taxed to the hilt, crap weather, not a hell of a lot going on that interests me and a fairly broken society/economy. I've toyed with buying a second home abroad to give a halfway solution, but I just keep coming back to it'll take a full jump to make a proper difference. All evidence suggests I can have a far better life and future abroad, issues of business and family commitments have thus far stopped a move.
Around Geneva would be good, as would western Canada, somewhere in SE Australia too. But the USA is my target: upstate New York, northern California or central Texas.
Grass is always greener - UK's got a lot going for it.
You sound like my son when we are off on holiday,
Are there any sharks..... er no .... going to Sharm el-Sheikh red sea.
Are there any Spiders.... er no .... going to ... see above camel spiders
Are there any Volcanoes....er no .... going to Sorrento.
He always asks, the "are there any" question.
For me the main point has not been mentioned, It is not so much what UK is Or was, but what it is becoming, For me we are now massively over populated for our size and getting worse, Unemployment is mind boggling if you add in the oft not mentioned millions in so called further education. Our Roads are VASTLY over capacity, We are very fast becoming lawless, Apparently we have more surveillance than any other country in the world, And are being told how to live our lives EXACTLY as others dictate,We are virtually bankrupt, Public services are in ruins, I can see no instance of anything much improving More getting worse, If I were to take bets I would put money on some sort of civil outbreak / revolution within the next twenty years, I am a bit old now BUT if I were younger and know what I know now more or less any other country would be an improvement on what is happening. Our country is being destroyed!
As long as you have scarce skills or a scarce product for which there is a demand you should be able to move and get on anywhere. The 'demand' bit but may require some marketing; the skills my need honing so as to be better than rivals and thus scarcer … but the potential is always there to be realised. I have never forgotten the principle of economics which states, 'Economics is the study of scarcity' … and that applies to just about everything … even 'Pound Shops'.
dunk
Isle of Man for me! Little England, but in a good way.
Indeed.
Despite all this the UK is still vastly better than many! But the direction for the UK is an overwhelmingly negative one due to a combination of internal and external factors (social, cultural, political, legal and economic).
Last edited by markrlondon; 6th April 2014 at 23:19.
Everything except work, I guess. A great choice if you're independently wealthy though!
Interesting to hear the NHS as regarded as being a draw. It's one of the most inefficient and dangerous universal health services in the OECD and one of the most politically toxic places on earth in which to work. BTDT.
...but what do I know; I don't even like watches!
I'm frankly staggered at the number of people who have lived outside the UK and yet still prefer the UK. I can only assume you're all multi millionaires living in central London or something. I don't see myself returning ever.
Depends what you've got going for you in the UK, really.
I think if you're of above average affluence then the UK is without doubt one of the best places in the world to live. It's really not that expensive compared to a lot of countries and if you can afford to visit and holiday in the nice, warm places then it's great - you get the best of all worlds.
If I was stuck in some overpriced flat in the south of England in some miserable, grey, concrete, nondescript town then I'd be desperate to leave. As someone else said before, there are better places to be average or below in terms of wealth.
This is all coming from a man applying for jobs in the Middle East....(but who's lived in the UK, the USA and Africa).
It's nigh on impossible to live well for less in the UK nowadays plus the weather can be depressing. where you go is down to personal priorities and circumstances.
France:
Pros: Cheese and wine,
Cons: Front Nationale, protectionism, your car is on fire, you're not French.
Germany:
Pros: They speak better English than we do, engineering dominance
Cons: Terminally dull.
Switzerland:
Pros: Trains run on time, mix of weather, great for tax,
Cons: If you're rich enough to negotiate your own rate. And you're probably not. Gun crime. Quite grey. V limited employment protection.
Spain:
Pros: Manana.
Cons: Manana.
Italy:
Pros: Great climate, passion
Cons: Back pockets.
Portugal:
Pros: See Spain, just hotter
Cons: See Spain, just hotter
Belgium:
Pros: Err
Cons: It's full of Belgians.
So that's mainland Western Europe out.
I'm of an age to remember when England was lovely, and I was proud to be British.
Thanks mainly to incompetent goverment, things have changed a lot since then.
Immigration has got completely out of hand. It seems we need to build on every green space now because we need hundreds of thousands of new houses every year. It's not just the immigrants that need housing, so will their children in the future. The 'indigenous' people of this country are not increasing the population, and haven't done for many years. I and most of the people I know are not naturally racist, but enough is more than enough, and it's irreversible.
My main gripe with the UK nowadays though is the mindless rigid enforcement of every minor regulation from within and from Europe. You can be absolutely certain that Britain has enough bureaucrats with nothing better to do than devise new regulations and embrace new technology to ensure enforcement. The UK has become a police state with more surveillance than any other country in the world.
Is anywhere else better? Buggered if I know for sure. I like the sound of New Zealand. People tell me it's like England used to be.
I'm a patriot.
If I think there's something wrong with my country I do my bit, as a free man, to change it. I don't abandon it.
And I certainly don't sit around, moan, say I'm going to leave and then do nothing because I'm too bone idle.
Isn't the need for housing due to the increased tendency for people to live alone?
As far a Britain 'going down the tubes', I think if you were to spend less time watching the News, reading newspapers, and listening to the doom mongers in the Bear Pit, you'd be a lot more positive about things. You could stop worrying about immigration, and start worrying about the important things, like able bodied people parking in Disabled spaces.
For want of a better place to put it, I discovered the other day that my 9 year old son is learning French at school (every other week, alternating with Religious Indoctrination Education), with a side helping of Polish and Lithuanian.
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